Jonathan Coopersmith

Chair of Musical StudiesCore Studies, Music History, and Advanced Conducting

Jonathan Coopersmith is artistic director of Nashirah and a guest chorus director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Ballet. He has conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra Society, Westminster Conservatory Orchestra, Wilmington Orchestra, University of Pennsylvania Wind Ensemble, and Penn’s Landing Orchestra.

Mr. Coopersmith is a regular guest lecturer in the Philadelphia area, with recent lectures at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In the past, he has served as music director for Philadelphia’s Opera on the Square, Rittenhouse Row Festival, and the Philadelphia Festival of the Arts.

Mr. Coopersmith holds a bachelor’s degree in music theory and composition from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with George Crumb; and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Mannes College of Music. He has also studied at the Pierre Monteux School.

Along with David Ludwig, Mr. Coopersmith taught a Curtis-Coursera course, From the Repertoire: Western Music History through Performance. He has been a member of the Curtis faculty since 2005.